


At The Stroke Of Midnight

by fallofthereichenbach



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: (kind of), Kissing at Midnight, M/M, New Year's Eve Party, Strangers to Lovers, festive, is that a tag idk, why am I doing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 12:25:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5585272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallofthereichenbach/pseuds/fallofthereichenbach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan Howell is very reluctant to go to a New Year's Eve party with his friends, but he goes along anyway because he has nothing better to do</p>
<p>When he sees the most beautiful guy across the crowded room, his night takes a turn for the better</p>
            </blockquote>





	At The Stroke Of Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> Wow something seasonally appropriate omg
> 
> Happy New Year's if you're reading this after December 31st!

\- (9:16 pm)

 

"Do I really have to come?"

"I keep telling you, Dan, you don't have to come. But it's New Year's Eve and you have literally no other plans. Live a little!"

Dan Howell was sitting on his best friend Chris' bed watching him get ready (who needed that much hair gel, honestly) and pouting a little.

"Excuse me, I did so have other plans!"

"Dan, sitting home alone watching crap telly with a box of Quality Street's doesn't count as 'plans'."

"How dare you call Sherlock crap. We are no longer friends."

Chris rolled his eyes and turned away from the mirror to look at Dan with a sigh.

"When was the last time you dated someone?"

"... No comment."

"When was the last time you hooked up with someone?"

"... I refuse to answer that question."

Chris had a smug smile on his face - he'd won, and he knew it.

"Exactly. Just think - we can set you up with someone tonight. Let the magic of New Year's do it's work. Nothing makes people feel desperate and lonely and willing to make out with you like seeing all their friends kissing each other."

Dan rolled his eyes and sighed like he was totally against the idea of going - though he was starting to see the appeal.

Chris grinned at him and turned back to the mirror.

"By the way, how long are you going to be taking to do your hair? It's just I think it would look a bit odd if we showed up after midnight," Dan snarked, changing the subject. Chris responded by throwing a nearby hairbrush at him.

"Come on Dan, cheer up. You Only Live Once!"

"Fuck off."

 

\- (10:05 pm)

 

Dan had to admit, there was a pleasant atmosphere travelling to the party. None of his friends had their driver's license, so they all walked round to the friend of a friend of a friend's house. (Dan took comfort in the fact that a fair amount of his friends were going - he wasn't too thrilled about having to mingle with strangers all night)

When they got to the house that was easily identifiable as 'Party Central' by the thumping music and bright lights oozing from within, they were welcomed in warmly by a tipsy stranger who took one look at the alcohol they'd brought and greeted them as best friends.

Dan pretty much clung to PJ and Chris, his two closest friends. The house was a lot busier than he had expected; crammed full of people, some of which he dimly recognised as old acquaintances but most of which were complete strangers. A different song screamed from each different room at volumes that surely weren't safe or legal. There was a table and a countertop and a shelf in the kitchen dedicated to storing the drinks, and that's where PJ and Chris were heading.

They poured some random liquid into paper cups, and handed one to Dan.

"What's this?" He asked, over the sound of the heavy music - though it was considerably quieter in here.

"Just drink it, it'll help you loosen up," advised PJ.

"How do I know you're not trying to drug me?' Joked Dan.

His friends laughed and drained their cups (though Dan couldn't help noticing that they didn't answer the question). After pouring himself another drink, PJ clapped them both on the back and announced that he was going to go find Sophie (the girl he'd been obsessing over since high school).

Dan and Chris stood awkwardly by the drinks counter for a little while, talking and judging the people that walked past in the way that only friends can. Dan didn't feel hugely 'loosened up' yet, but he did start to feel slightly less anxious around all of the people. When Chris offered him more Mysterious Liquid, he accepted with significantly less hesitation.

They were just playing another round of 'Who's The Drunkest In The Room?' when something - or rather, someone - caught Dan's eye.

Standing right in the centre of the room was a tall, dark haired guy who looked around Dan's age. His eyes... Oh God, his eyes were the bluest blue to ever blue. Dan's tipsy mind couldn't come up with a fitting metaphor for how beautiful his eyes were; everything seemed so cliche and unable to capture how amazing they were. They just... existed, in the most extraordinary way possible.

When he threw his head back and laughed at something his friend said, Dan stopped breathing. Fuck.

Dan tore himself away from the eyes (which were unfortunately not returning his gaze) to look the guy up and down. He was tall, skinny, hot as fuck... and wearing a Muse shirt. Well, that just made everything clear in Dan's mind: this was meant to be.

Reluctantly looking away from the handsome stranger, Dan turned once more to Chris.

"Hey, d'you know who that guy is?" 

"Which guy?"

Confused at the fact that Chris didn't instantly know who Dan was talking about and feel immediately drawn to him, Dan hurried to explain and point him out.

"You know, that one over there with the blue eyes and black hair and the Muse shirt..."

"No?"

Now that he looked again, Dan couldn't see him either. It was like the guy had just disappeared; there was no hint of the tall dark stranger left in the room. It didn't help that Chris was looking at him like he was mad.

"Dan? Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I just need to... Go use the bathroom?"

"... Okay, well I'm gonna go see if I can find someone to make out with, so I'll catch up with you later?"

Dan was already moving away before he could respond. He had to find the stranger. He had to.

 

\- (10:45 pm)

 

Unsure of where he was heading, Dan wandered the house for a little while. He kept the cup with a bit of alcohol in it to keep up appearances and not look too weird, but didn't drink from it. He didn't want to be a drunk drooling mess when he met The Stranger again.

He looked strolled into the living room like he was looking for a friend, and nonchalantly observed the drunk people that covered every surface, looking for a Muse t shirt and beautiful eyes.

He did the same in the hallways and the dining room and again in the kitchen, and then started upstairs. Dan examined the bathroom queue, under the pretence of joining the end of it. He considered 'accidentally' barging into the bedrooms and disturbing the couples inside, but soon decided he couldn't stomach it.

It was as if The Stranger had mysteriously faded from existence. Or maybe he was just hiding from Dan. Or maybe he never existed in the first place. Dan had no fucking clue, but he really liked Muse and he really liked that guy.

 

\- (11:00 pm)

 

"Oh, hey, Louise!" Dan knew his fake 'Oh-hey-I-totally-didn't-know-you-were-here' voice needed work, but he didn't really care. He smiled hopefully at his friend and the man that she seemed to be quite attached to via the mouth. Eventually, they pulled apart reluctantly, once they realised Dan had no intention of leaving them be.

"Dan, sweetie," Louise said, through clenched teeth, clearly trying not to sound overly angry, "I'm kind of busy over here."

"Oh yeah no totally. I just wondered if you could do me a favour?"

Louise sighed and glared at him.

"What do you want?" 

"Do you know who the tall guy with the blue eyes and black hair in the Muse shirt is?"

"Where?" She said, looking around the room.

"He's not here right now. I don't know where he is, actually. But I wondered if you knew him?"

"No, sorry Dan. I've got no idea who you're talking about," Louise said, and then seemed to pity him, "I'll ask around, see if anyone knows."

"Thanks Louise, you're the best. I'll leave you two in peace then to keep doing... that."

Dan was out of the room before they resumed their passionate embrace.

 

\- (11:15 pm)

 

"PJ? Oh my goodness, what are the odds of seeing you here? And Sophie too? Well I'll be damned!"

If Dan thought Louise had been annoyed to see him, it was nothing compared to PJ's reaction. 

"Fuck off, Dan."

"So you two are a thing now? Great. Look, I need a favour PJ."

"Dan if you don't get out of my face in five seconds, I swear to God..."

The anger that spewed out of PJ's mouth along with various threats and profanity was enough to make Dan try another tactic.

"Sophie, has PJ ever told you about the time we were twelve and he-"

"Alright!" PJ had gone pale at the mere mention of it, and Dan grinned happily at him, "What do you want?"

"There's a guy - tall, hot, black hair, blue eyes, Muse t shirt. Do you know him?"

"No, I don't. Now can you fuck off please?"

Dan sighed, and was just about to turn away and go look somewhere else, when Sophie's voice piped up.

"If you're looking for someone, Dan, you should probably go ask John Green. You remember John?"

"Yeah, I remember John - glasses, brown hair, always joking?"

"Yep, that's him! He organised everything about tonight, so you should go ask him."

"Thanks Sophie, you're awesome. PJ, you hang onto her if she'll have you!"

 

\- (11:30 pm)

 

It took a while for Dan to find John, and even longer to persuade him to get down from the drinks table, where he was jumping up and down to the beat of the music while his friends and peers cheered him on.

"Hey Dan, what can I do for you?" He said, once they were back on ground level and the crowd around them had stopped booing at Dan The Buzzkill/Killjoy.

"Sophie said you did the guest list and basically organised this entire party, right?"

"Yup, that's right. You having fun?"

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, I was wondering if you knew who the tall guy with the black hair and the blue eyes and the Muse t shirt was?" You'd think Dan was sick of asking the same question over and over again. Well, he was. But that didn't stop him.

John looked up at the ceiling in thought, as if running through an imaginary list in his head. After a few minutes, he suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I know who you mean! But I don't know his name or where he is. He's one of Dave's friends."

"Who's Dave?!"

"I don't fucking know!" John laughed, "I've met a lot of people today. See ya Dan, my people are calling to me!"

His friends then proceeded to cheer him on as he once again climbed upon the table and began to dance.

 

\- (11:45 pm)

 

Dan felt pretty hopeless. It was fifteen minutes until midnight and he still had no idea who or where The Stranger was. He was seriously considering just going into a room and shouting "DAVE!" and seeing who turned around. Because of course nothing could go wrong with that.

He didn't want to give up, didn't want to admit defeat. But it was nearly midnight - why should he bring in the New Year chasing after someone he'd probably never find when he could spend it with friends?

Dan sighed, and made a decision. He'd look for some girl who seemed lonely and start talking to her and kiss her at midnight. It was what was expected of him, after all.

He made his way slowly through the crowds of people, looking for someone who seemed nice and like they wouldn't hate him. He passed some people that he knew - Louise still with the guy whose name he didn't know, Cat sat with a brown-haired girl who had mascara-y tears running down her face, PJ and Sophie sharing a chair and looking like they never wanted to leave each other's sides...

He overheard Chris, who looked incredibly drunk, talking to some guy about the finer points of bisexuality, and couldn't help but laugh slightly. 

"People always say... 'Hey, which side do... do you bat for?" and I'm like -hic- I don't bat for any side, I'm too busy -hic- fucking people... You know?"

God, he loved his friend.

Suddenly... And it was sudden, so sudden: a flash of blue, out of the corner of his eye. Fuck. Is it...?

Dan nearly ran over some short person as he span round faster than he'd have thought was possible.

And there he was.

A figure, with his back to Dan.

Tall, black hair, and a t shirt that could conceivably have Muse on the front of it.

Walking towards the back of the kitchen.

The door.

The garden.

Shit.

 

\- (11:55 pm)

 

Dan followed the figure as though in a dream, shoving through the crowds of people as though he were swimming. Adrenaline thrummed through him as he kept his eyes on the black-haired figure in front of him. Trailing through the kitchen, breezing out of the door, floating into the garden and the cold, cold night air...

The Stranger turned around, spinning, and looked up. Dan followed his gaze: up, up, up, at the sky. Pitch black, pierced by tiny pinpricks of fire, like a heavy cloak with holes eaten into it by moths. Old, as ancient as the universe, but oh so beautiful.

The Stranger was beautiful too. Pale, unblemished skin, with those warm blue eyes set perfectly in it. Black raven hair swept to the side in a way that was probably fashionable in 2005 - the exact mirror image of Dan's hair. And the Muse t shirt.

Finally, he noticed that Dan was standing there staring at him.

"Hello?" He said, in a voice that was velvety smooth and deep and curious and a touch confused but with a smile that was contagious. Oh, that smile - Dan could write poetry about that smile, about how it seemed to hold all of the stars in the sky inside it, about how it was like the sun in the middle of a rainstorm spreading light and leaving rainbows wherever it went... Dan never was that good at poetry, but he could have spent years writing about that smile.

"Hi," was what Dan decided to go with in the end, "I just wanted to say that... I really like your shirt."

"Oh- thanks! I really really like Muse."

"Me too!"

"No way? My name's Phil by the way, Phil Lester."

"I'm Dan Howell, it's really great to meet you. I-"

Something cut Dan off - there was a chanting coming from inside. 10, 9, 8... Why were they counting down? What was happening? It took a moment or two for Dan to remember that it was New Year's Eve - about to be New Year's Day in a few seconds.

"Quick, it's nearly the New Year, Dan!" Phil laughed a little.

7, 6, 5...

Dan looked back at Phil, to see that he was suddenly a lot closer than before. Were they going to-?

4, 3, 2...

"Happy New Year, Dan," Phil whispered, a mere breath in the night wind. And then there was another pair of lips pressing against his. Soft and warm and gentle and Dan had stopped breathing and his heart was beating way too fast but he didn't even care...

1, 0...

 

\- (12:01 am)

 

They pulled away as cheers erupted from inside. Dan knew that the cheers were because of the beginning of another year, but that didn't matter at all. Blue eyes were locked with brown eyes, and something was started in that moonlit garden, something special. And it wasn't a new year.

They stayed in the garden for longer than they planned to.

They didn't do much talking.

And Dan made a mental reminder to thank Chris for convincing him to come after all.


End file.
